Quake rehab, rebuilding cost estimate: P4B

MANILA, Philippines — The government would need at least P4 billion to help get back on their feet areas devastated by a series of quakes in several Mindanao provinces.

Ricardo Jalad, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council executive director, told reporters on Thursday, Nov. 7, that the amount was still just an estimate and exact costs would be known later.

At least three major quakes struck Mindanao in October, killing at least 28 people and injuring more than 400 others.

More than 230,000 individuals were either displaced or their homes damaged by the quakes. Some 40,000 people had taken shelters in 47 evacuation camps and 43,000 others moved to their relatives.

On Oct. 16, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck parts of Mindanao. Just 13 days later, on Oct. 29, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit Tulunan, North Cotabato. Two days later, Oct. 31, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit parts of Mindanao.

Jalad said the government was capable of bringing aid to those in need of it. “We are doing everything we can,” he said./TSB